Viewscreen
]] A '''viewscreen' (or main viewer) is an audio/visual device used as early as the 2150s aboard starships, space stations and at planetary facilities by space-faring organizations including Earth Starfleet and the Federation Starfleet, the Borg Collective, the Cardassian Union, the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire. These devices were used to display various types images from sensor data and communications signals. General Specifications status, 2272]] Generally consisting of a large screen located on the bridge of a starship (or operations center of a space station or starbase), the viewscreen was an almost universal facet of space exploration and colonization dating as far back as the 22nd century, surviving well into the 23rd and 24th centuries. Typically used to display images of the area immediately around or in front of a starship, the viewscreen could provide views from all directions, as well as call up data from the library computer. It was also essential in ship-to-ship communication, allowing face-to-face conference if so desired, utilizing subspace and other communications systems. Visual contact, however, could only be achieved when in visual range. Intra-ship communications were also possible, though the main viewer was rarely used for this function. ( ; ; ) When necessary, the image on the viewscreen could be magnified - 24th century starships easily gaining a magnification of 106. The image could also be augmented, with the ship's computer displaying extrapolated images or graphics displaying sensor data. ( ; ) Earth Starfleet NX-class Installed as early as 2151 aboard Earth Starfleet vessels including NX-class starships, the viewscreen was located on the front bulkhead of the main bridge. Rectangular in shape, the main viewer aboard these vessels provided a wide screen view of the space around the ship, as well as visual communications. In the year 2152, the crew of ''Enterprise'' (NX-01) mounted a sophisticated sensor on the grappler arm allowing their sensors to detect and display onscreen cloaked Suliban and Romulan vessels. ( ) :Some fans have presumed that, per dialogue in "Balance of Terror", 22nd century starships that presumably fought in the Earth-Romulan War were without viewscreens, or at least incapable of visual communications. While this supposition was natural, ''Star Trek: Enterprise clearly established viewscreen technology present on Earth vessels, as well as aboard Andorian ships, Klingon ships and many others. Federation Starfleet Constitution-class onscreen aboard the Enterprise]] Retaining the same basic shape of the Earth Starfleet viewscreen, the main viewer utilized aboard such 23rd century Federation Starfleet vessels as the Constitution-class [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]] was mounted at the front of the main bridge and was generally rectangular in shape. Though a smaller viewscreen (utilized as early as 2254) would be supplanted by a larger one in 2266, the viewscreen aboard the Constitution-class vessel generally displayed images with a blue outline and featured a number of controls mounted to the left and right of the monitor. Capable of the same function as previous versions, this viewscreen model could also be used to display sensor data from within the starship, as well call up cross sectional diagrams of the ship itself. ( ; ) :The iconic viewscreen from ''The Original Series would be the basis for all other versions seen after in the movies or spin-off TV series. The chase lights seen at the bottom of the screen were not present during the two pilot episodes, but would be present with the debut of the more standard viewer in "The Corbomite Maneuver". Constitution-class refit on another refit viewer]] During its refit in 2270, a new viewscreen was placed on the bridge of the Enterprise, this one much larger and sometimes utilized to display alert status. By 2293, refit Constitution-class starships would incorporate a digital clock mounted at the top of the screen. When the ship was moored in spacedock, the inactive viewscreen would display a generic graphic. ( ; ) :Movie versions of the main viewer aboard the ''Enterprise remained fairly consistent, until the destruction of the original starship and its replacement with the ''Enterprise''-A. That ship again featured the familiar chase lights below the monitor as well as a somewhat anachronistic clock. For its appearance in Star Trek V, the screen would (at times) utilize rear-projected images rather than post production burn-ins. It was reused as the viewscreen aboard the [[USS Excelsior|USS Excelsior]] and ''Enterprise''-B in The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek Generations with some cosmetic changes. Galaxy-class As early as 2364, Federation vessels including Galaxy-class starships employed holographic viewscreens. While not projecting solid holographic images, the viewscreen installed on the main bridge of such vessels as the ''Enterprise''-D displayed 3-dimensional images, as though observing the image with the naked eye. Larger than that of the Constitution or Excelsior-class starships, the viewscreen aboard the Galaxy-class starship featured touch-sensitive controls at the bottom of the screen. Using high resolution, multi-spectral imaging sensor systems and could also be controlled from a panel on the right arm of the command chair or at the ops or tactical stations. ( ) :While it is a subtle effect, the viewsreen seen throughout ''Star Trek: The Next Generation clearly displayed 3-D images. This effect was created in some scenes by providing multiple angles on the viewer, with the image on screen displayed at a corresponding angle, rather than a flat, single angle shot. Intrepid-class By the year 2371, Intrepid-class starships such as the [[USS Voyager|USS Voyager]] were equipped with viewscreens also employing holographic technology. Slightly smaller in size, the Intrepid-class viewscreen also differed from those of the Galaxy-class in that a hologrid was present behind the displayed image. When damaged or deactivated, a hologrid, much like that in the ship's holodeck, appeared on the bulkhead. ( ) :While it most likely employed the same technology as the viewscreen aboard the ''Enterprise-D, the viewer seen on Star Trek: Voyager is the only screen to so apparently utilize a hologrid. Sovereign-class One of the more unique viewscreen designs of the 24th century, the main viewer aboard the Sovereign-class [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)|USS Enterprise-E]] utilized a holographic image projected onto the front bulkhead of the main bridge. While most viewscreens aboard Federation vessels of the era did use holographic technology, the images they displayed were generally projected within a clearly defined screen area. Not so aboard the Enterprise-E, with the viewscreen appearing from only a small area of projection systems near the floor of the forward bulkhead. When deactivated, the image projected would disappear, leaving only a blank wall in its place. ( ) By 2375, however, such technology would be replaced with a standard format viewscreen installed aboard the Enterprise-E, lasting through 2379 until it was destroyed during the Battle of the Bassen Rift. ( ; ) :One of the first and only steps forward from the fairly straight-forward screen first appearing in TOS, the viewscreen seen in ''Star Trek: First Contact seemingly appeared in mid-air. According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion however, the producers disliked the blank wall and opted to return the traditional viewer for Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek Nemesis. Borg Borg cube ships were equipped with special viewscreen technology, projecting images onto a free-floating cube-shaped viewer somewhere within the ship. Such a viewer was utilized by Locutus of Borg during the Borg incursion into Sector 001 in 2367. ( ; ) :This was the only incident in which a Borg viewscreen was shown, all other occasions (such as in "Scorpion, Part II") portrayed smaller monitors within the Borg cube. It is likely that such a screen was erected for the newly assimilated Locutus, as the Borg collective consciousness seems to negate any need for one. Cardassian During the 24th century, starships and space stations constructed by the Cardassian Union utilized unique, holographically projected viewscreens. Installed aboard Galor-class warships and Terok and Empok Nor-type stations, these Cardassian viewers consisted of hollow, oval-shaped frames. Images were projected into these frames, then disappeared when the viewer was deactivated. This same technology was employed in the construction of Cardassian-type viewers. ( ) Dominion See: Virtual display device Klingon As with many things Klingon, viewscreens installed aboard Klingon starships including Birds-of-Prey, K't'inga-class warships, and Raptor-type vessels were distinguished by angular shapes. Peforming the same basic function as their Federation counterparts, 23rd century Klingon viewscreens aboard such ships as the [[IKS Amar|IKS ''Amar]] were able to display tactical information in graphic and photographic formats. ( ; ; ) Romulan Viewscreens aboard Romulan starships, including D'deridex-class warbirds functioned very much like their "alien" counterparts during the 24th century. Consisting of screens smaller than those used by the Federation and Klingon Empire, Romulan viewscreens (like that of the [[IRW Khazara|IRW Khazara]]) were rounded-off square shapes, accented with green rectangles at the top of the monitor. As with most starships, the viewscreen was mounted on the foreward bulkhead of the main bridge aboard Romulan vessels. ( ) See also *Holo-communicator *Viewer *Desktop viewer Background In early design drafts for both the [[USS Voyager|USS Voyager]] and the [[USS Defiant (NX-74205)|USS Defiant]], the designers contemplated eliminating the veiwscreen entirely. Attemps such as the holo-communicator in DS9 and the suspended-in-mid-air viewer in First Contact were made, but ultimately gave way to tradition. The viewscreen was considered an important staple of the Star Trek universe. 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